Methods for spiral winding composite fan bypass ducts and other like components

ABSTRACT

Methods for spiral winding a contoured composite component involving providing a triaxial material, cutting the material to a width, loading the width of material onto a creel, transferring the material from the creel to a tensioning device, and using a traversing screw to spirally wind the material from the tensioning device about a contoured curing mandrel such that each subsequent layer of the material overlaps by about half of the width where the contoured composite component has a cylindrical shape and non-crimp or braided material; a conical shape and non-crimp or braided material void of hoop fibers; or a combination thereof.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser. Nos. 12/129854 and12/129862, both filed on May 30, 2008, which are herein incorporated byreference in their entirety.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT RIGHTS

This invention was made, at least in part, with a grant from theGovernment of the United States (Contract No. F33615-03-D-2352 D07, fromthe United States Air Force). The Government may have certain rights tothe invention.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments described herein generally relate to methods for spiralwinding composite components. More particularly, embodiments hereingenerally describe automated methods for making spiral wound compositecomponents, such as gas turbine engine fan bypass ducts and containmentcasings for example.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In gas turbine engines, such as aircraft engines, air is drawn into thefront of the engine, compressed by a shaft-mounted compressor, and mixedwith fuel in a combustor. The mixture is then burned and the hot exhaustgases are passed through a turbine mounted on the same shaft. The flowof combustion gas expands through the turbine, which in turn spins theshaft and provides power to the compressor. The hot exhaust gases arefurther expanded through nozzles at the back of the engine, generatingpowerful thrust, which drives the aircraft forward.

In recent years composite materials have become increasingly popular foruse in a variety of aerospace applications because of their durabilityand relative lightweight. Although composite materials can providesuperior strength and weight properties, improvements can still be made.

Composite components, such as fan bypass ducts and containments casingsfor example, are currently fabricated using conventional layup methodssuch as filament winding, automated tape laying, and hand layup.Filament winding generally involves winding filaments under variousamounts of tension over a mandrel in a desired pattern. This methodallows for control of the orientation of the filaments so thatsuccessive layers can be oriented differently from the previous layer.Automated tape laying generally involves laying up a plurality of pliesof tape at various angles to create a laminate. Hand layup generallyinvolves manually positioning a woven fabric mat in a mold, applyingresin thereto, and manually removing any air bubbles trapped between theplies of fabric. While all of these methods can be used successfully,such methods can often be time consuming, labor intensive, wasteful ofmaterial, and as a result, costly.

Accordingly, there remains a need for methods for making compositecomponents that that are less time, material, and labor consuming and,therefore, more cost effective.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments herein generally relate to methods for spiral winding acontoured composite component comprising providing a triaxial material;cutting the material to a width; loading the width of material onto acreel; transferring the material from the creel to a tensioning device;and using a traversing screw to spirally wind the material from thetensioning device about a contoured curing mandrel such that eachsubsequent layer of the material overlaps by about half of the widthwherein the contoured composite component comprises a cylindrical shapeand non-crimp or braided material; a conical shape and non-crimp orbraided material void of hoop fibers; or a combination thereof.

Embodiments herein also generally relate to methods for spiral winding acontoured composite component comprising providing a triaxial material;cutting the material to a width; loading the width of material onto acreel; transferring the material from the creel to a tensioning device;and using a traversing screw to spirally wind the material from thetensioning device about a cylindrically shaped curing mandrel such thateach subsequent layer of the material overlaps by about half of thewidth wherein the triaxial material comprises fibers selected from thegroup consisting of carbon fiber, glass fiber, ceramic fiber, graphitefiber, aramid fiber, and combinations thereof.

Embodiments herein also generally relate to methods for spiral winding acontoured composite component comprising providing a triaxial materialvoid of hoop fibers; cutting the material to a width; loading the widthof material onto a creel; transferring the material from the creel to atensioning device; and using a traversing screw to spirally wind thematerial from the tensioning device about a conically shaped mandrelsuch that each subsequent layer of the material overlaps by about halfof the width.

These and other features, aspects and advantages will become evident tothose skilled in the art from the following disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing outand distinctly claiming the invention, it is believed that theembodiments set forth herein will be better understood from thefollowing description in conjunction with the accompanying figures, inwhich like reference numerals identify like elements.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross sectional view of one embodiment of a lowbypass gas turbine engine in accordance with the description herein;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of a compositecomponent in accordance with the description herein;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of a spiralwinding system in accordance with the description herein; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross sectional view of one embodiment of acomposite component made using the spiral winding system in accordancewith the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments described herein generally relate to methods for spiralwinding composite components, and in particular, composite fan bypassducts and containment casings, such as fan casings. More particularly,embodiments herein generally relate to automated methods for makingcomposite components using a spiral winding system including a creel, atensioning device, a traversing screw and a curing mandrel as describedherein below. Those skilled in the art will understand that although theembodiments herein focus on low bypass gas turbine engines, thedescription should not be limited to such.

Turning to the figures, FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of oneembodiment of a low bypass gas turbine engine 10 that generally includesa fan surrounded by a fan casing 12, a low pressure compressor 14, a fanbypass duct 16, burners 18, turbines 20, a fan exhaust 22, and a nozzle24. In addition, engine 10 has an intake 26.

Referring to FIG. 2, one embodiment of an acceptable composite component30 is shown. As used herein, “contoured composite component” refers toany structure having a contoured shape fabricated from a compositematerial or combination of composite materials. As used hereinthroughout, “contour(ed)” means at least a portion of the shape orsurface is non-planar. In one embodiment, contour refers to any of acylindrical shape, a conical shape, or some combination thereof. In oneembodiment, composite component 30 may comprise a spirally wound fanbypass duct 31, though those skilled in the art will understand that themethods and systems described herein should not be limited to such. Inanother embodiment, composite component 30 may comprise a spirally woundcontainment casing such as a fan casing 12, as shown generally in FIG.1.

Bypass duct 31 may be fabricated as described herein below from amaterial 32 having fibers selected from the group consisting of carbonfiber, glass fiber, ceramic fiber, graphite fiber, aramid fiber, andcombinations thereof. In one embodiment, composite component maycomprise a cylindrical shape 29 and material 32 may comprise anytriaxial non-crimp or braided material. In another embodiment, compositecomponent can comprise a conical shape 33 and material 32 may compriseany triaxial non-crimp, or braided, material that is void of hoop (90°)fibers. The absence of hoop fibers can help the material conform to aconically shaped curing mandrel as described herein below. The followingmethods are equally applicable whether or not the material compriseshoop fibers.

Initially, material 32 may be cut to a width W and spooled onto a creel34 of a spiral winding system 36 as shown generally in FIG. 3. Material32 can have a width W that can vary depending on need, however, in oneembodiment, width W can be from about 4 inches (about 10.2 cm) to about8 inches (about 20.3 cm). In one embodiment, creel 34 may have a widthcorresponding to the width W of material 32.

Once loaded onto creel 34, material 32 can be transferred through atensioning device 38 with the aid of guide rollers 40 and wrapped abouta curing mandrel 42 with the aid of a traversing screw 44. Morespecifically, material 32 can be transferred through tensioning device38, which can apply needed tension to material 32 to help ensureuniformity. Tensioning device 38 may comprise anything capable ofproviding tension to the material. In one embodiment, tensioning device38 may comprise a magnetic break on the creel. In another embodiment,tensioning device 38 may comprise a friction break attached to thecreel.

From tensioning device 38, material 32 can be wrapped about curingmandrel 46. In particular, material 32 may be spirally wound aboutcuring mandrel 42. As used herein, “spirally wound” indicates that eachsubsequent layer of the material overlaps the previous layer by abouthalf of width W of material 32. In this way, two layers of material 32can be layed up about the curing mandrel concurrently. As an example,and as shown in FIG. 4, if material 32 has a width W of about 4 inches(about 10.2 cm), then each subsequent layer can overlap by about 2inches (about 5.1 cm).

This desired overlap can be achieved using traversing screw 44, which asshown in FIG. 3, can be positioned to lie along a length L of curingmandrel 42. As each subsequent width W of material 32 is applied tomandrel 42, tensioning device 38 can move laterally along traversingscrew 44 to achieve the desired spirally wound bypass duct preform 46.

Spirally wound bypass duct preform 46 may then be treated with anyacceptable resin and cured using conventional infusion and curingtechniques known to those skilled in the art to produce a spiral woundbypass duct 31.

Constructing a composite component having a spirally wound design asdescribed previously herein can offer several benefits over currentfabrications techniques. Spiral winding is an automated method that canprovide the ability to quickly produce complex geometries using fabricthat can be tailored to specific design needs. Moreover, spiral windingcan replace labor intensive hand lay-up process, as well as materialwastes from filament winding and single source braiding. Additionally,spiral winding can provide precise lay-ups, the ability to constructcomplex geometries, and the ability to make a component having anydesired fiber orientation.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to make and use the invention. The patentable scope of the inventionis defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur tothose skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be withinthe scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do notdiffer from the literal language of the claims, or if they includeequivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from theliteral language of the claims.

1. A method for spiral winding a contoured composite componentcomprising: providing a triaxial material; cutting the material to awidth; loading the width of material onto a creel; transferring thematerial from the creel to a tensioning device; and using a traversingscrew to spirally wind the material from the tensioning device about acontoured curing mandrel such that each subsequent layer of the materialoverlaps by about half of the width wherein the contoured compositecomponent comprises a cylindrical shape and non-crimp or braidedmaterial; a conical shape and non-crimp or braided material void of hoopfibers; or a combination thereof.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein thetriaxial material comprises fibers selected from the group consisting ofcarbon fiber, glass fiber, ceramic fiber, graphite fiber, aramid fiber,and combinations thereof.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the width ofthe material is from about 4 inches (about 10.2 cm) to about 8 inches(about 20.3 cm).
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the width of thematerial corresponds to a width of the creel.
 5. The method of claim 4wherein the tensioning device is a magnetic break or a friction break.6. The method of claim 5 wherein the curing mandrel comprises a lengthand the traversing screw is positioned to lie along the length of thecontoured curing mandrel.
 7. The method of claim 4 comprising laterallymoving the tensioning device along the traversing screw to produce aspirally wound composite component preform about the contoured curingmandrel.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein each layer of the materialoverlaps by about 2 inches (about 5.1 cm).
 9. The method of claim 8comprising treating the composite component preform with a resinfollowed by curing the preform to produce the contoured compositecomponent.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the contoured compositecomponent comprises a fan bypass duct or a containment casing.
 11. Amethod for spiral winding a contoured composite component comprising:providing a triaxial material; cutting the material to a width; loadingthe width of material onto a creel; transferring the material from thecreel to a tensioning device; and using a traversing screw to spirallywind the material from the tensioning device about a cylindricallyshaped curing mandrel such that each subsequent layer of the materialoverlaps by about half of the width wherein the triaxial materialcomprises fibers selected from the group consisting of carbon fiber,glass fiber, ceramic fiber, graphite fiber, aramid fiber, andcombinations thereof.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the width ofthe material is from about 4 inches (about 10.2 cm) to about 8 inches(about 20.3 cm).
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the curing mandrelcomprises a length and the traversing screw is positioned to lie alongthe length of the curing mandrel.
 14. The method of claim 13 comprisinglaterally moving the tensioning device along the traversing screw toproduce a spirally wound contoured composite component preform about thecuring mandrel.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein each layer of thematerial overlaps by about 2 inches (about 5.1 cm).
 16. A method forspiral winding a contoured composite component comprising: providing atriaxial material void of hoop fibers; cutting the material to a width;loading the width of material onto a creel; transferring the materialfrom the creel to a tensioning device; and using a traversing screw tospirally wind the material from the tensioning device about a conicallyshaped mandrel such that each subsequent layer of the material overlapsby about half of the width.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein thetriaxial material comprises fibers selected from the group consisting ofcarbon fiber, glass fiber, ceramic fiber, graphite fiber, aramid fiber,and combinations thereof.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein the widthof the material is from about 4 inches (about 10.2 cm) to about 8 inches(about 20.3 cm) and wherein each layer of the material overlaps by about2 inches (about 5.1 cm).
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein the curingmandrel comprises a length and the traversing screw is positioned to liealong the length of the curing mandrel.
 20. The method of claim 19comprising laterally moving the tensioning device along the traversingscrew to produce a spirally wound contoured composite component preformabout the curing mandrel.